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Home Improvements

We’ve made enough home improvements now to warrant a page detailing the projects and some easy references to posts regarding said improvements.

[My apologies to those of you who have OCD tendencies like myself – there was really no good way to set this up and I know things are inconsistent and, well, it’s just going to have to do.]

Exterior:

Gray peeling paint, ugly red door, and some dying bushes in front.

Original front door – red,leaking, very old.

New front door! 11/2009

Back yard:

No improvements yet. (Neighbor cut down tree along back fence Summer 2010, so there’s a lot more sunlight now. The grass looks better, and we raised the mound of dirt around the tree to re-bury the roots. No pics.)

Deck:

Table and chairs (falling apart) came with the house.

Grill repainted by Prince Charming. 7/2010

Garden:

The original forest growing in the garden.

Dying rosebushes removed and replaced with hydrangea.

Tree pruned, lamb’s ear planted. Summer 2009

Front yard:

Upon moving in, the front “garden” was a mound of years-old mulch that was decaying. It contained one bush and one hosta.

Started to add ground cover. Summer 2009

Living room:

The bench under the window and two lamps, the coffee table, and the couch came with the house. The wood floors look good, but need to be refinished.

Those lamps and that chair also came with the house.

Family heirloom piano comes home. 6/2009

Made some pillows, hung some artwork.

Cleaned up, decorated a bit.

The lamps and bench were given away on Craigslist. The space is currently being used as a temporary family room while the basement is under construction. 12/2010

Dining room:

Hung up wine glass rack. No real decorations to speak of.

Paint color TBD. The small unit by the closet door (on the left) is slated for removal once I find decent baskets (with lids). We have yet to find a good dining room table for this space, as it is small and a thoroughfare.

Took the chairs apart and re-glued them (they are no longer wobbly). Recovered. 9/2010

Kitchen:

Originally there was a very tiny dryer here. It was given away on Craigslist.

Original dishwasher. It worked, but wasn’t anything special. Given away on Craigslist.

Purchased with credit card points, picked out to match the rest of the appliances, installed by Prince Charming. 5/2009

Original sink. Not pictured: The leaky faucet and the rusted-in non-working garbage disposal. Trashed.

New Swanstone sink! Custom order (not ours, but a return) from Menards. Super deep and scratch/stain resistant. Lovely! Also added new faucet, new garbage disposal, and under-counter water filtration system. 5/2009

Painted! It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but it made a major difference. 8/2010

Nightstand finally repainted. 8/2010

New headboard (thank you, Craigslist). 8/2010

My office:

Original paint: blah.

But, the room gets excellent light.

Painted! Soon after, I decide I don’t like it. Haven’t fixed that yet.9/2009

Despite my dislike of the paint job, I made curtains to match. Or started them.

Custom-made (by us) cutting table. Fits my 36×72 cutting mat. Folds down against wall when not in use (if I ever clear out the space beneath it). The TV antenna has since been removed (and the pile on top of the table has grown). 12/2009

Finally hung some mini quilts up, while I ponder repainting.

Prince Charming’s office:

Original walls: faux-textured wood paneling on top, real pine on bottom. Matches the hallways in the basement. Ugly as sin. Insufficient lighting, wood blinds on window that gets almost no light.

Stripped it down to the cement block.

New ceiling (Ceiling Max – love it!) and lighting (yes, it’s fluorescent, but it works great in this space). 9/2010

Drywall, paint, trim. 3/2010

Two new desks (via Craigslist). 11/2010

My bathroom:

Original paint: blah, with water stains. Too much white tile. Dated, but functional. Mini-blind on window that faces the main street.

Frosted film applied to bottom half of window, new window covering made. 9/2009

Old glass-doored shower. Too narrow (always hitting my elbows on it) and leaked all over the place.

Replaced with curved rod. Very swank. Replaced shower head with rain-style. 6/2009

Prince Charming and his dad added a GFI outlet, since the only outlet in the room was on the light fixture above the vanity. No, we haven’t replaced the missing tile yet. 5/2009

Insufficient lighting, lots of black furniture and accessories. Very den-like.

Cleaned the plywood shelves and unpacked our books.

Library has been temporarily relocated… to the bathroom (seriously).

Pulled down two layers (yes, two) of wood paneling.

Stripped it down the the cinder block. Currently a WIP.

Guest bedroom:

More wood paneling, but this time it’s real and less crappy. Still dark. The I-beam that supports the house runs through the middle of this room, so half of the room has a ceiling height of 6′. My old twin bed and a quilt I made were all we had for guests.

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